The P223 million rehabilitation and improvement of the old Bacolod City Hall at Araneta-Luzuriaga streets will continue pending a court decision on a case filed by the Luzuriaga family, City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. said Friday, Nov. 15.
A case seeking the annulment of the title of the about 2,300 square meter property where the city hall is located was filed by a member of the Luzuriaga family before the Bacolod Regional Trial Court in 2009, Ting said.
But only a temporary restraining order can stop the project, Ting said.
He said based on a Transfer Certificate of Title issued in 1934, there is no annotation regarding a deed of donation by the Luzuriaga Family and on prohibitions on the use of the property.
The rehabilitation project does not include the site of the Fountain of Justice in front of the City Hall, which is recognized by the National Historical Institute as a heritage site and considered a historical landmark of Bacolod, he said.*